2024 Conservative Party leadership election (UK)

A Conservative Party leadership election is expected to occur in 2024 to determine the successor to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following his declared intention to resign after the party's landslide defeat at the 2024 general election.

Background
Sunak was elected unopposed in October 2022 as party leader following the resignation of Liz Truss as Conservative leader, becoming Prime Minister on 25 October 2022. Sunak called a general election on 4 July 2024, which resulted in the landslide victory of the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer. Subsequently, Sunak said in his final speech as Prime Minister that he would resign as leader of the party, but not immediately, staying on as leader as preparations are made to elect his successor.

Campaign
In July, multiple reports suggested that Danny Kruger and John Hayes, prominent MPs on the right of the party, are planning to support the prospective leadership candidate Robert Jenrick. Both Kruger and Hayes previously campaigned for Suella Braverman in her bid to succeed Boris Johnson in 2022. The i reported that following Braverman's controversial speeches regarding the pride flag, multiple Conservative MPs believed she had lost her support among her colleagues and could defect to Reform UK. Sources in both parties suggested Braverman was expected to defect, potentially following the Conservative leadership election.

Schedule
The elected chair of the 1922 committee, Bob Blackman, suggested prior to the election that the party must take its time in choosing a leader. Following the election, he said that he expected Sunak would not be the leader by the Conservative Party Conference, which is being held at the end of September.

Candidates
In June 2024, during the campaign for the 2024 general election, The Guardian reported that leadership hopefuls were already lobbying for support from MP candidates for any upcoming leadership election. The Times also reported that both Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch registered website domains for a leadership campaign. As Mordaunt lost her seat in the general election her prospective campaign is moot barring either a change in the party's constitution or re-entering the House of Commons through a by-election; both are considered unlikely. The Conservative Party constitution states that the leader of the party must be a Member of Parliament.

Rules for the election will be set by the 1922 Committee; all previous leadership elections have involved a series of votes by Conservative MPs, and some have included a runoff between the top two candidates voted on by party members.

Expected to declare
The following displays all the candidates who are sourced as soon to mount a leadership campaign.

Likely candidates
The following displays all the candidates who are sourced as likely to mount a leadership campaign.

Potential candidates prior to the election
The following figures lost their seats in the 2024 general election and are ineligible, but were discussed as potential candidates prior to results.
 * Steve Baker, Minister of State for Northern Ireland (2022–2024), MP for Wycombe (2010–2024)
 * Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (2022–2024), MP for Portsmouth North (2010–2024)
 * Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence (2023–2024), MP for Welwyn Hatfield (2005–2024)

Declined
The following Conservative Party politicians were suggested by commentators as potential candidates for the leadership but declined to stand:
 * Jeremy Hunt, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2024–present), Chancellor of the Exchequer (2022–2024), Foreign Secretary (2018–2019), MP for Godalming and Ash (2024–present, formerly South West Surrey, 2005–2024)

Robert Jenrick

 * 1) John Hayes, MP for South Holland and The Deepings (1997–) and former minister
 * 2) Danny Kruger, MP for East Wiltshire (2024–)

Tom Tugendhat

 * 1) Steve Baker, former MP for Wycombe (2010–2024) and former minister
 * 2) Damian Green, former MP for Ashford (1997–2024) and former cabinet minister

Conservative party members

 * Multi-candidate polling


 * Head-to-head

2019 Conservative voters

 * Multi-candidate polling

General public

 * Multi-candidate polling